Изъяснение псалма 13-го.

"At the end, a psalm to David." And this psalm refers us to the end, because it foretells the future. Its content is as follows: the Assyrian king Sennacherib once attacked Judea with an army and captured many cities, from which some surrendered voluntarily, while others were taken by force. In the hope of taking possession of Jerusalem, he sent Rapsaks to Hezekiah, who then ruled over the Jews, with blasphemous and evil words. For he says: Tell Hezekiah, do not let your God deceive you, in whom you trust, to deliver Jerusalem out of my hand. “Where is the God of Hamath and Arphad? where is the God of the city of Sepharuim? They could not deliver from my hand, and “will the Lord pluck Jerusalem out of my hand” (2 Kings 18:34–35)? But Rapsaks spoke thus, and Hezekiah, neglecting both the great army and the madness of his speeches, driven by his own piety, called on Divine cooperation for help, and soon took advantage of it. For the righteous Judge, disgusted by the wickedness of one, and accepting the piety of the other, through a single Angel, killed one hundred and eighty-five thousand Assyrians, and put the rest to flight, and granted miraculous salvation to the besieged. Ps.13:1. The madman said in his heart: “There is no God.” They became corrupt and committed vile deeds; there is no one who does good. “The speech is foolish in his heart: there is no God.” The beginning of the psalm corresponds to the words of Sennacherib and Rapsakes. “When you are corrupted and disgusted in your undertakings, do no good.” The foundation and root of wickedness, says the Prophet, is the corruption of life, because, having given yourself over to intemperance and brutal life, you have erased the remembrance of God from your mind, and your subjects followed the madness of the leader. Ps.13:2. The Lord looked down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there was anyone who understood, seeking God. Ps.13:3. They all deviated and became equally obscene; there is no one who does good, not even one. “The Lord spoke from heaven to the sons of men, see, if you understand, or seek God.” “All of you have deviated, together with the keys of Bysha: do not do goodness, do not do it to one.” Those who did and said this, he did not ignore “the living ones who live on high and the lowly ones who look down on” (Ps. 112:5-6); but having subjected their thoughts to a precise examination, I saw that they were all obsessed with wickedness and, at the same time, the lawlessness of life. This is similar to what was said to Abraham: “The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah has multiplied against Me, and their sins have been great. I will go down and see if it is according to their cry that they come to Me that they will be accomplished” (Gen. 18:20–21). Ps.13:4. Will not all those who practice iniquity, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call on the Lord, come to their senses? Ps.13:5. There they will fear fear, [where there is no fear,] for God is among the generation of the righteous. Ps.13:6. You laughed at the thought of the beggar that the Lord is his hope. “Will not all the workers of iniquity, who devour my people bread, understand? I didn’t call on the Lord.” “There I was afraid of fear, where there was no fear.” You, who devour My people, did not want to understand this; therefore, from experience itself, you learn that this people is difficult to catch, and that you cannot, like some kind of devoured bread, waste it, neglecting My providence. For the Prophet expresses this with the words: “I did not call on the Lord.” Therefore, you, who speak fearlessly and are afraid of no one, will fall into fear and fear, and give yourself up to flight, when no person will intimidate or pursue. For this is what the words mean: “there you were afraid of fear, where there was no fear.” And the words: “Neither will all those who practice iniquity understand” should be read with special emphasis. This: “The Lord came from heaven upon the sons of men, see, if they understand, or seek God,” the Prophet said in a human form, showing that God sent punishment from heaven on the Assyrians. For it is clear that the God of all abides everywhere, and, according to the prophetic word, “contains the circle of the earth, and those who live on it are like creatures” (Is. 40:22). “As God is among the generation of the righteous.” “The advice of the poor is put to shame: the Lord is his hope.” The Lord of all is doing this for the sake of the virtue of King Hezekiah and the piety of his flock, which you, the wicked, neglected as worthless, and mocked his firm trust in Me. For the Prophet called this hope advice, and not a goal. Hope in Me served as a sacred anchor for this family, and it received salvation as it had hoped. For this was added by the Prophet: Ps.13:7. “Who will give salvation to Israel from Zion!” When the Lord brings back the captivity of His people, then Jacob will rejoice and Israel will rejoice. “Who will give salvation to Israel?” This is a profound prophecy. For not only the salvation of the besieged was foreshadowed then, but also after many times the saving appearance of our Savior in the same place. “The Lord will always bring back the captivity of his people, Jacob will rejoice, and Israel will rejoice.” since the ten tribes and the inhabitants of many cities of Judah had already been taken into captivity, the Prophet prays that they will receive the same salvation and regain their freedom, and says that then there will be greater joy among the people who have a special name, because they were named not only by Jacob, but also by Israel, inheriting this name given by God to their forefather. You might be interested in: